#then proceed to brozone us

[joongdunking]

Credit

[aliceramblez]

BroZone Brothers With An Insecure S/O 😔💗

Tags: GN! Reader, Self-Deprecating Jokes, Low Self-Esteem, Abandonment Issues, Slight Body Insecurities. Fluff/Comfort.

A/N: Here we go with our first request! I really liked this idea as someone who has low self-esteem, and honestly it goes to all of y'all who think you're not good enough— cause you are! Also sorry it took a bit! I've been sick because the universe hates me 🙃

Feel free to leave a request & hope you enjoy! ^^

John Dory

At first, he doesn't really know what to make of it.

He finds it a bit strange, but doesn't question your odd sense of humor, and will sometimes even join in on the joke by saying stuff about himself, thinking it's some sort of inside thing between the two of you.

“Man, I can't believe I'm so clingy, sorry! Feel free to use me as a bad example, at least that way I won't be totally useless, haha!”

“Ha! You think that's bad? Babe, you haven't even seen me when I'm up at night just staring at the ceiling contemplating my life choices.”

It isn't until getting a good smack from Bruce and Floyd that he realizes you're actually being serious. And the prospect of that kinda puzzles him, not gonna lie.

“Look at you, tiger! Got yourself plenty of groupies already— Not surprising honestly. Don't have to worry about backups when you decide you're ready to move on, either!”

After a performance at the Pop Troll village, everyone is gushing over BroZone because of course they are. JD only barely manages to squeeze past the number of fans to get to you on the other side of the podium.

The oldest sibling looks at you in shock, and has to get closer to make sure he heard you right. “Babe, why would you say that?”

Caught off guard, you manage a nervous chuckle as you play with your hair. “I-I mean... Wow, would you look at the time! We gotta meet with Poppy and the others!”

John Dory stops you on your tracks and demands an explanation, which isn't really good for your poor heart. All you can do is kick the dirt and avoid his gaze, since that makes what you're about to say much easier to voice aloud.

“I mean... You're John Dory. You could date any troll you wanted and yet you're sticking with me. It honestly feels like a dream sometimes... And I'm scared of the day you realize you can do WAY better and decide to leave me.”

After processing this, he immediately holds your face in his hands and gives you the most serious expression you've ever seen on him. “I don't want just any random troll... I want you. You're my number one fan, and I'm yours, so don't even think about stuff like that, okay?”

After the exchange, he's always on the lookout for whenever your bad habit wants to kick in again and is ready to stop it ASAP

Spruce/Bruce

He notices it happens mostly when you're working at the cantina.

Whenever you get an order wrong, trip over your own feet or don't remember how to work one of the machines properly, you'll go into an awkward insecure flight response.

You'll say “Oops! Sorry! Clumsy Twinkle Toes, coming through!” while grinning and laughing along with the customers, but Bruce knows that it's affecting you more than you lead on.

It also happens whenever BroZone is getting ready to perform and you don't know what to do with yourself since you're “standing in the way”, despite being told multiple times that it's okay for you to be backstage with everyone else.

When he talks to you about it, you get really uncomfortable and just say that it's no big deal and that you can handle it.

“I've always been a clumsy person, so I guess that's always making me doubt myself over the smallest of things... Sorry if it's annoying.”

Bruce will then proceed to give you a huge warm hug and a kiss on the forehead as he whispers comforting words into your ear.

“Hey, I can be clumsy too! I've always been the worst out of everyone when it comes to choreography. Don't tell JD though, cause I know he'll throw a fit knowing I don't practice.”

He'll throw in other examples that may seem inconsequential to you, but you appreciate the effort nonetheless and smile and giggle through the embarrassing stories he shares.

He helps you get more confident by being there with you while taking orders at the cantina and praising you whenever you get something right— albeit in private as to not embarrass you.

Same goes with rehearsals, where he WILL drag you into the lounge area to hang with his brothers and/or Poppy and Viva when they decide to visit, too.

Overall he wants what's best for you and will try and push you out of your comfort zone, but only in a safe environment where he knows that if something does go wrong, it won't be as catastrophic as you make it out to be in your head.

You never stop thanking him for being your crutch during these times.

Clay

The moment he hears the words come out of your mouth he's completely flabbergasted.

First of all, who said those things to you? Because he swears he just wants to talk to them—

It's at a sleepover with his brothers and the gals at the Bergen Golf Course, and among the many games, snacks and movies watched, pictures are also taken.

As soon as you take a look at the array of selfies, you let out what sounds like a mix between a laugh and a sigh.

“I mean, at least it stays consistent— in photos, I look ugly. And in real life, I'm also ugly!”

As soon as those words leave your lips, Clay is at your side with an almost unreadable expression, only to snatch one of the photos from your hands. “How DARE you say that about the most attractive troll I've ever met? Shame on you!”

He then starts going around the room waving the picture around to his brothers, saying stuff like “Look how attractive my S/O is! I'm dating them!” while you're just blushing profusely and begging him to stop (even though deep down your kinda giddy about it).

After that day, Clay will do small gestures in which he reminds you how beautiful he thinks you are. Everything to outright saying it each morning, joking about it with his brothers, and even bragging about you to his friends in the Bergen Golf Course.

He's a simp and he's totally okay with that because it's you.

Clay feels like he's the luckiest troll in the world for being able to snatch someone like you since he's “the most boring and uninteresting of the bunch”, so he feels like he's hit the jackpot.

You immediately tell him that he's not boring to you and that he's the best boyfriend ever, which only causes him to smirk.

“Doesn't feel good to know the person you love feels so bad about themselves, does it?”

Finally realizing his reverse psychology, you give in with a laugh. “No, it doesn't. I guess... We can both work on that? Together?”

And so you do, and end up helping each other whenever one is feeling down in the dumps, as a sort of personal cheerleader. You truly couldn't have asked for someone better.

Floyd

You're the kind of person who's very vocal about your interests.

So it's no surprise that you have to catch yourself mid-ramble whenever you're talking about something you're either interested in or knowledgeable about. And with Floyd being such a good listener, it honestly slips your mind more times than you'd prefer.

After realizing you've been talking for too long, you turn pink in the face and start apologizing profusely.

“Sorry! You probably didn't need to hear all of that. They didn't call me ‘Chatter Box’ when I was younger for nothing! Haha...”

But Floyd could care less about any of that. He loves hearing you talk, not just because he's not much of a chatty person, but because he just finds it incredibly endearing.

He'll hold your hands in his own and give you the softest smile ever that just makes you think that it should be illegal to be THIS sweet.

“You're just so cute when you get lost in the moment like that. Besides, I love seeing you happy. By all means, I'm glad you get to do the talking for the both of us, otherwise we wouldn't get anywhere in this relationship.”

You laugh at his attempt to make you feel better and melt under the touch of his lips on your cheek.

After that, whenever you go out either just the two of you or with your group of friends, Floyd will encourage you to express yourself. He does this by either asking you a question directly or subtly incorporating you into the conversation by saying something like. “I think (y/n) knows about this kinda stuff. Don't you, love?”

Obviously this all happens with your consent beforehand, since he doesn't want to put you in a tight spot, either.

Either way, he always values whatever you have to say, since you always bring in new perspectives that maybe others didn't think about before.

He will also encourage you to be yourself and not try and match your topics of conversation with things you think other people will find interesting. You deserve to be happy by sharing what you love with the world.

Poppy and Viva are huge helps in the art of feeling confident by speaking your mind, and Floyd couldn't be happier for you.

You thank him by telling him about your day each night, in which sometimes he'll fall asleep to the soothing sound of your voice, which only warms your heart on so many levels.

“Goodnight, my prince.”

“Goodnight, my little chatter box.”

Branch

Just like Clay, this man is ready to throw hands.

Just give him a name and he'll get the job done before sunrise—

He notices that sometimes you struggle with finding outfits for different occasions, either something casual, dressy, classy, etc.

But it's not because you don't have anything in your wardrobe, on the contrary it's pretty much brimming. It's more the fact that you're not satisfied with any of them because you feel like you don't look good in them.

Branch tries to convince you otherwise, saying that you look great no matter what you wear, but you can't help but feel self-conscious in anything that isn't a good old sweatshirt.

He isn't knowledgeable in fashion (clearly) so he enlists the help of Poppy and The Snack Pack to try and cater outfits to your exact measurements, along with any other nitpicks you've had in the past with either texture or material.

I mean, Branch has backup plans to his backup plans, you think he wouldn't keep notes on what kind of stuff his S/O doesn't like— INCLUDING mundane stuff like their clothing?

He surprises you with these, and you can't help but feel attractive in them since he paid extra attending to the complaints you had from your own designs.

“I personally think you look great no matter what you wear. But if you feel so strongly about it, might as well get some stuff you'll actually enjoy wearing.” He'd said when you asked why he did it, and your heart just melted.

You vow to try and work on your self-imagine regardless, which he gets happy over and says he can't wait for you to see yourself the way he does.

[simplydannie]

What if it wasn’t Floyd in the diamond but one of his other brothers. How do you think that would go?

Haii!!

Good question! These are kinda like short little summaries that kinda popped into my head:

John Dory

Now if JD were in the diamond, I suspect him and Velvet budding aheads a lot. If you look at it, he and Velvet share the same head strong personality…. Them needing to be perfect in what they’re doing and bossing their siblings around, really not thinking about the well being of their siblings at first.

Through out his time being captured I can see John Dory seeing a lot of himself in Velvet. Throughout his time being captured he begins to open his eyes and see how he was with his brothers at one point, and how he really just betrayed them.

John Dory would try to speak words of wisdom to Velvet on how she is being and treating her brother isn’t right. He’d try to be her voice of reason while Floyd was Veneers. There would be moments where she listens and it hits her, but it only last a moment as her desires would kick in and she’d use his essence.

While his brothers would still come over to rescue him, John would make attempts to escape multiple times and fail miserably at that. John would have gotten Velvet to almost let him go multiple times… of course he would fail.

After being rescued, John Dory would go back to Rageous to visit Velvet in attempt to help her change to be a better sister just as he became a better brother.

Branch

Originally, wasn’t it going to be Branch? This honestly would have been interesting. Now Branch would have kidnapped when one day after the wedding, he steps out alone. The memory of his brother had just come back. Wow now out of all the days and years they have been gone? He doesn’t know either. He hears a sound…. In a quick flash he is captured where he then finds himself in Mount Rageous.

That’s where he meets the twins and is their prisoner for two whole months as the events of Trolls Band Together unfold. During this time he is observant of his captors and finds himself feeling sympathy towards one Rageon in particular…. Veneer. He sees the way Velvet treats him and can’t help but see himself a lot in him. He knows what it’s like to be treated like the baby, like his opinions don’t matter, so day by day he begins to converse with the Rageon and make his way into Veneers heart.

Veneer actually lets Branch go! But unfortunately his brothers get captured as they fall into Velvets hands. Now Branch finds himself rescuing them, but has the help from a tall green, haired friend.

(I really like this concept! I might make it into a story!)

Bruce

This one would be heartbreaking as he is being taken from his family. The ones who go and inform John Dory of Bruce’s kidnapping are Bruce’s family. John Dory then would go to his brothers for help.

Being a father already, Bruce comes across fatherly to the twins. He tries to talk to them about the choices they are making and how it can affect them in the long run. Unlike most people around them, Bruce actually sees potential in the twins and tries to convince them that with practice they can do it! The twins remind him of two of his own children that bicker like they do: he sees Velvets head strong personality in one and Veneers willingness in another. The only one willing to practice with Bruce in this case is Veneer, who proves he can sing.

When the twins try to go through with their plan he tries to talk sense into them. Unfortunately it doesn’t work and they proceed to catch the rest of brozone. Now here’s the catch, upon the mics turning off, Bruce encourages Veneer to sing like he’s been practicing. A turn of events unfold that Veneer actually helps Brozone with the perfect family harmony that releases Bruce.

Clay

Clay would have gotten captured when he and some Trolls happened to venture into Rageous. The Rageons seemed friendly enough, so there was no need to be afraid of them… until they came across the twins. The twins would capture Clay as he saved the others from being captured.

Viva would have been part of this group. She attempted multiple times to release him and break the diamond. It isn’t until she is told by Clay that the only thing that can break it is the perfect family harmony. So Viva is the one to try and find Brozone to bring them into Rageous.

Being Clay, he is able to learn a lot about the twins and their past. He realizes how mislead they are and how they are being manipulated. Veneer even vents to him about things he’s felt and how he has a growing concern for his sister reach really sparks Clays interest. Being the reader and observant Troll that he is he sees how his essence is somehow altering the twins.

Clay is actually able to worn his brothers before they are all captured. He figures out a plan for them to sing the perfect family harmony that allow him to break free, but then discovered that the perfect family harmony not only broke the diamond, but broke whatever spell the twins were under. Of course being a Troll in the practice of law, Clay is able to get the twins to do community service rather than time in prison.

[xxnomadsxx]

An unlikely scenario, but what if Velvet and Veneer got Branch? Like. They heard that the pop trolls live the forest, they probably found branch during a hunt and went "hm. Yeah he looks good" and napped him before the others found em

Would the Tribe join in on rescuing him? Would the farals?

What'd thing do?

(I have many questions on this scenario, as it's my favourite-)

Honestly this is a scenario that rides dumb luck sooooo HARD!!!!!! (it would be near impossible to catch Branch!!! his instincts of fight or flight wins everytime no matter the option) Velvet and Veneer would trip over a passed out Branch who is just…laying…on the ground?!?!? while looking for pop trolls (at first they’d think he’s ded but he just passed out from like a week of no sleep) Without really looking at him carefully (they just see a small troll body) They immediately do a quick grab and go!!!! but once they do get a good look at him they realize he’s grey which brings up a lot of problems in their head, but thankfully he’s still able to produce talent (he would last longer since he has over 20 years of untouched talent) Velvet and Veneer wouldn’t send a letter to Brozone (since Branch is basically unrecognizable)

Meanwhile the village is losing it because their leader is missing!!! Thing is in the worst condition as they are violently searching every where for Branch (he has flipped 5 pods over) Eventually they figure out Velvet and Veneer are the ones who took Branch (maybe from some torn fabric or hair that they use to sniff them out) The ENTIRE village proceeds to go and hunt down Velvet and Veneer(at this point they are furious and on the brink of murder, Thing is leading this hunt and is foaming at the mouth and shaking from rage)

After beating up Velvet and Veneer horribly (and grabbing Branch’s diamond) they go home!! For like 3 days they struggle to break open the diamond. (Everyone is really stressed about it Thing is freaking out the most that Branch might die in the diamond) Branch finally confesses that they need the perfect family harmony to break the diamond (this was after they tried using a diamond shattering diamond hammer and it being the wrong diamond hammer (don’t ask me where they got it) No one in the village is technically related to Branch so they freak out more, until Branch says he has Brothers (wow Branch is pulling a king Peppy with all these secrets) At the mention of brothers the the entire village goes brother hunting. (Thing already knew about the brothers but just forgot they actually existed and weren’t just a few names)

After like a day they bring back 4 successfully kidnapped brothers who are flabbergasted by what happened and are soon thrown into shock by the state of their brother (who is still in the diamond) After a couple days of struggling to do the family harmony and working out their many MANY issues they finally get Branch out of the diamond. (Throughout all this Thing is glaring daggers at them) The brothers then try to spend time with Branch trying to get to know him as best as they could, though they wish the village would back off and let them actually be around Branch without being dragged off by some rando and that thing.

Eventually Poppy finds out about the village by complete accident and Clay tells Poppy about Viva and everything else goes as cannon (plus some more overprotective bros and a very stressed out Thing about Branch’s safety)

[pinkrose787]

Amnesia Branch AU Chapter 7

Summary: Branch contemplates what life will be like beyond the hospital now that he's broken up with Poppy and pushed away his brothers.

Ao3 Link

Chapter 7

The hospital room is so quiet. The only thing Branch has to distract himself are the many scrapbooks and get well cards that Poppy brought him. All of them feel like billboards reminding that he isn’t the troll that everyone wants him to be.

Poppy’s card sits on his bedside table, but he can’t even look at it. Looking at it feels like a stab to the heart. He still hears the echoes of Poppy pleading with him not break-up with her. When he closes his eyes, he sees the tears that were welled up in hers.

He didn’t want to break-up with her. There is nothing in the world that he wanted to do less than end the one good thing in his life. But after the reunion with his brothers, after they left him again, he realized that a horrible break-up was inevitable.

Continuing the relationship would have only hurt them both. Poppy would be at her wits end trying to help him, and he would spend every second in agony waiting for her to leave him.

Now, that it’s over, the two of them can move on. Poppy can be the wonderful happy troll that he’s come to love. And Branch… well, he’s going to be miserable. But he’ll be miserable in a way that won’t hurt her.

Branch buried the scrapbook that the better happier version of him made at the very bottom of the scrapbook tote bag. He should give that back to Poppy. She deserves at least one memento of the troll she used to love.

Now, there’s going to be no more hospital room visitors. He burned what little relationship he had with his brothers yesterday. There’s no way that Poppy is going to visit him. Not after he broke her heart like that.

Maybe it’s all for the best.

Branch is a poison that hurts everyone around him. BroZone broke up because of him. His grandmother died because of him. Poppy has been a total mess, and why? Because of him.

Everyone is better off without him. No one’s life has ever been improved by him. Every good thing that people say Branch has done is something that Poppy did that they are misattributing to him. She’s the source of all the good in this world.

This solitude is good. He’ll be able to contemplate what his new life will look like. It won’t be exactly like it used to be. The entire social structure of society has changed in a few years, not that’ll matter much given how little he socializes.

Even though he knows that the Bergens and Trolls are allies, he still feels like he should fear them. There’s a little voice in the back of his mind telling him that they are still a threat. Maybe he should start making preparations in case they attack again.

Who is he kidding? They will. Eventually.

All of this “peace between Trolls and Bergens” stuff is a ruse. They’re waiting for the second that the Trolls let their guard down to attack. This time though, they’ll have all the Trolls in the world, not just the Pop Trolls. 

Branch won’t let that happen. He has to protect everyone from them, because Lord knows that they are not going to protect themselves. As long as they consider the Bergens friends, they won’t have any defenses.

Morning comes and goes. Just like Branch thought, no one came.

That’s probably how it’s going to be from now on. Not just for his time in the hospital, but for his entire life. He’s going to be alone.

But that’s okay. He accepted that he’ll always be alone a long time ago.

The door opens. He looks over at whoever entered. It’s only Dr. Moonbloom.

“Hey, how long until I get out of here?” Branch asks.  

Dr. Moonbloom clicks her pen a couple of times. “Well, you’ve proven to be stable, and, aside from the amnesia, there doesn’t seem to be any long lasting health effects. So, you’ll probably be out of here tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow…” Branch repeats.

“Yes, tomorrow.” Dr. Moonbloom replies. 

She proceeds to go over some test results with Branch. There’s a lot of medical jargon that he’s not familiar with. It’s hard to tell from her tone if what she’s saying is good or bad, but given that he’s getting released tomorrow, it’s probably all okay.

Once she’s done, she leaves the room. Leaving Branch alone again.

Tomorrow. That seems so far away. Time seems to move so much slower here. Even though it has only been a couple of days, it feels like he’s spent almost six months in the hospital. It’s getting unbearable.

At the same time, that’s too soon. The hospital has been a controlled environment where he’s only had to face how things have changed a little bit at a time. Once he’s out in the real world, who knows what life will be like for him.

He’ll probably be accosted by trolls that knew the previous happier version of him. They’ll probably all be disappointed once they meet the old damaged Branch. From how many friends the old him seems to have made, he’ll have a lot of trolls to disappoint.

Once everyone gets the news about how awful Branch now, they’ll leave him alone like they should. The Pop Trolls will probably be the first to understand the way Branch is now. They were the ones who had to deal with him for years.  

The social order should return to exactly as it used to be. Except for the fact, that Branch will no longer receive anymore invitations or anything from Poppy. She probably hates him and never wants to see him again.

He doesn’t blame her.

There’s a gentle knock at the door. Branch has come to know that knock very well the last couple of days. There is no way it’s her. Not after what happened yesterday.

The door opens with a high-pitched creak.

“Hey Branch!” Poppy says.

She looks better, more well rested, and just as radiant as she always does. There aren’t any obvious signs that she had been crying. Her eyes aren’t red and puffy. In fact, they’re very bright.

It only took a day of not dating Branch, and things seem to be far better for her. Just more evidence that he was bad for her.

“Why are you here? We’re not dating anymore. I broke up with you,” he says curtly. Normally, when a couple breaks up, the two of them try to avoid the other. Then again, Poppy isn’t normal.

The smile seems to fade on her face. “We’re not dating anymore and I respect that. But-” The smile forms on her face again. “Just because we’re not dating, doesn’t mean that we’re not friends!”

Of course, she’s like this about a break-up.

There’s another troll with her. She looks exactly like Poppy, but taller and with wild blonde hair. From the scrapbooks he read, this must be Viva, Poppy’s big sister and Clay’s girlfriend.  

Unlike Poppy, she does not look happy at all. She is glaring at him, hard. He can feel her eyes piercing his soul.  “Is this your sister?” Branch asks.

“Oh, yeah! I forgot that you haven’t met her yet!” Poppy perks up. “Branch, this is Viva! My sister! She wanted to see you!”

“Hey,” Viva says. She does not give off the vibe that she wanted to see him to check up on him. It feels more like she wants to keep him in check. Make sure he doesn’t say anything to hurt Poppy again.

“Nice to meet you.” Branch is trying extra-hard to be polite to her. He is a little scared of her. She looks like she wants attack him. He doesn’t know what Poppy told her about what happened yesterday, but it doesn’t seem like she said anything good.

Not that there is anything good that could be said about yesterday.

“Anyway, you’re getting out tomorrow! That’s great!” Poppy pulls out a chart from her hair. It looks the charts that Branch usually makes to keep track of what he needs to do.  Only difference is that this one is brightly colored and covered in glitter.

“When you get out, I am giving you a tour of TrollsTopia! It’s changed so much over the last 4 years! You’re going to love it!” She starts listing off all the things that they’re going to do. Places that they’re going to visit.

Hearing about all of it feels overwhelming. Branch is tired just thinking about the plans that Poppy is talking about. Maybe past Branch would have enjoyed doing a lot of that stuff, but he’s not sure how much he’d enjoy it.

She looks so happy talking about the tour that Branch doesn’t think he has the heart to tell her that he’s not interested in doing anything. That and he’s scared of what Viva will do if he outright rejects her.

Maybe he’ll see if he can get released a few hours early, so that he doesn’t have to reject her to her face. Instead, he’ll just hide in his bunker and hope she gets the message.

Poppy has always had access to a better more brighter version of the world that Branch has never had access to. Well, he did for a little bit, but all memories of that world is gone. A sign that he was never meant to be part of it.  

As Poppy talks, Branch glances at Viva, who hasn’t spoken since her introduction. She is still giving him a death glare. From what he read in the scrapbooks, the two of them were friends before all of this. That doesn’t seem to matter to her now.  

From what he’s read, she really does value protecting her little sister above all else. Not even letting someone that she considers a friend hurt her.

Branch respects that.

He wishes that his brothers would have done the same for him. Not leaving the second things didn’t go their way. If they did that, then maybe his life wouldn’t have sucked so much. Maybe things would be better for him now.

Being around Poppy right now is more agonizing then pain he felt when he first woke up in the hospital.

She’s right here. So, very close to him. Acting like nothing happened yesterday. Like he didn’t rip her heart into two. As if things have always been like this between the two of them. He doesn’t know how she can stand it.

Maybe she never cared that much about them being together romantically. Maybe when he broke-up with her relieved her of a burden that she never wanted in the first place. Maybe the whole reason she was dating him was out of pity for how sad and pathetic he was.

That makes much more sense than someone as wonderful and perfect as her falling in love with someone as terrible as him.

After what feels like an hour of Poppy explaining her very thorough plan, she finally reaches the end. “Well, that’s the plan. What do you think?”

“That’s all for one day?” Branch asks. The explanation of the plan took up the whole day. There’s no way that all of that can be done in a single day. It would probably take a whole century to do half of the list. 

“No, not all of it.” Poppy shakes her head. “Think of it as another bunker list.”

“Bunker list?” Branch asks. That sounds familiar, but he isn’t sure what it is. He doesn’t remember reading about that in any scrapbooks. Maybe that is somehow the one piece of his memory that didn’t get completely wiped when he hit his head.

“Yeah, it was a list that we made of a bunch of different things to help you be a troll again. This is sort of like that.”

“Huh.” Branch says. “We made it?”

“Yeah! Me and you worked on it together!” There’s a very bright smile on her face. “I actually based all of this off the bunker list. It’s a bit different given how much has changed, but the core of it is still there!”

Branch does like lists and checking things off of them. Still, he isn’t sure just how much Poppy spoke about is meant for tomorrow. It seems like that there’s way too much planned.

“What do you think?” Poppy asks.

“It sounds… nice,” Hopefully, he doesn’t fully convey just how much he does not want to do any of that. Fearing both hurting Poppy and pissing off Viva.

“I knew you’d love it!” Poppy shoots out of her chair. A triumphant smile on her face. “I have to go, but I’ll be back tomorrow I promise!”

She heads towards the door. Her hand on the handle. “Bye! Love you!” She pauses for a second, her smile fades a bit, before exiting.

Viva did not leave with her sister. Branch doesn’t know what to say to her. She is just glaring at him.

“You made a terrible mistake breaking-up with her,” she says.

“I know.” Branch hangs his head low. “But I had to. It’s best for both of us.”

He isn’t sure how to explain his reasoning. Trying to put it all into words seems pointless. How is he supposed to explain how them holding onto each other was only going to hurt them? When he broke up with Poppy, he didn’t think he’d have to explain it to her sister.

“No, it isn’t. You really hurt her.”

Branch sighs. He knows that he hurt her. How could he not? It’s the only thing that’s been on his mind since it happened. “She’ll get over it and find someone who’s better for her.”

The glare Viva gives him tells him that was the wrong answer. “She won’t. You two are perfect for each other.”

“We were perfect for each other,” Branch corrects her. “But I’m not the one that she fell in love with.”

He’ll never compare to the troll that he used to be. No matter how much he wants to be like him, it’s just not possible. It was a series of unlikely events and coincidences that are the reason he became who he used to be.

The stars will never align like that ever again. 

“That doesn’t matter to her.” Viva says coldly.

“It should.”

Viva sighs. “You don’t get just how much you mean to her. She loves you so much. You’re one of the most important people in her life. And you know that she isn’t going to stop trying to help you no matter what. So, please at least make it easy for her.”

Branch doesn’t have a response to that. Nothing about his life has ever been easy. Every day has been an uphill battle for survival. Even sitting in a hospital bed, he’s been struggling.

“Get it together, Branch. At least for Poppy’s sake.” She leaves the room.

The hospital room is now silent except for the quiet whirring of machinery.

Branch glances at the card Poppy made him that still sits on his bedside table, all the scrapbooks that surround him. It’s almost enough to make him feel like he really is special to her.

Viva is wrong. He isn’t special to Poppy. She would go through this level of effort for anyone. That’s just the kind of amazing person she is. The kind who would go a thousand miles out of her way just to help someone she barely knows.

--------

Being around Branch was agonizing for Poppy. Every time she looked at him, she wanted to burst into tears. She wanted to beg him to reconsider the break-up. Ask him if this is really what he wanted.

But that would have been counter-productive.

The purpose of today was to show him that it doesn’t matter how hard Branch pushes her away, she’s going to be there for him. He can break-up with her, be as cruel as he can be, and she’ll still be standing by his side knowing that this is all because he is afraid and in pain. 

Still, knowing that he’s acting like this because he’s in pain doesn’t make it hurt any less. If anything it hurts more.

If he acted like this because he was cruel and heartless, there wouldn’t really be anything for Poppy to do. Helping him would be a moot point, because he wouldn’t care. Letting go of him would be so much easier.

But she knows that he isn’t evil. He’s in so much pain. More pain than Poppy has ever felt in her entire life. She wants to do everything that she can to comfort him and make him happy.

There isn’t anything that Poppy wouldn’t do to make him feel happy again. She’d rearrange the stars, alter the course of history, or even tear out her own heart. All of that just to make him feel a little bit better.

The door opens, and Viva exits the room.

Poppy wants to ask her why she stayed behind, what she talked about with Branch. But she’s too exhausted. “I told you that everything was going to go fine. You didn’t need to come.”

“Mhm,” Viva says clearly unconvinced.

This morning, she lost the argument to come see Branch alone. She was insistent that she could handle Branch on her own. In the end, she’s happy that Viva came. Even though she didn’t contribute much to the conversation, it was still nice to not have to deal with this on her own.

“How are you holding up, sis?” Viva asks. “Really. Don’t give me any of that I’m fine nonsense, because I know you’re not.”

Poppy leans against Viva. “I’m tired.” She sighs. “I just want everything to go back to normal.”

Viva pushes some of Poppy’s hair back. “I know.” She pauses for a second. “I have an idea! Let’s go get, ice cream! You need a break from all of this.”

Poppy lightly smiles. “Yeah, I really do.” The two of them head out of the hospital. Poppy feels a bit of anxiety leaving Branch behind, but he’ll be fine.

Tomorrow, Branch gets released from the hospital. There’s a lot that she has to do to make sure everything is ready. She has to make sure that pretty much everyone is briefed on how he is, though it seems like the gossip has spread pretty far already. She has to get all of his brothers to help

The list of what she has to do is so exhausting to think about, but it’s for Branch. All this effort is going to be worth it in the end. It has to.

[empressgeekt]

JD *arrives after Branch a week of Branch song and sees his messi love life with his partner*

proced to have bad memories of his almost wedding with Delta

JD: don't worry Bitty I will bring the Cavalry *proceeds to go on a adventure to bring the brother's back to help Bitty and Poppy*

Brozone +Viva: *arrive at the village*

JD: ok so everybody operation make Branch and Poppy say I love u is a go and nothing will stop us

Poppy from across the village: YOU EGGNAT!!!

JD: maybe something will stop us

Yeah by the time a kid is on the way it's kind of too late.

[simplydannie]

Part 1 || Parts 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 6

After running from his sisters outrage, Veneer found himself in alley where he met a very familiar little friend.

The meeting is cut short as a new face comes in to save Branch. Finally being able to leave, something stops Branch… he somehow can’t leave Veneer behind to the dangers of Under Rageous.

Branch squinted his eyes, taking in the sight in front of him. Same pale skin, deep blue eyes, the darn swooped up hair, it was definitely Veneer. A smile spread wide on the boy's face.

“You’re Floyds brother!” He called. “H-how is he? I wrote to him and he never wrote back. Is he okay? Is he better? How did you get here? Is he here too? Is the rest of Brozone here? Is….." Branch ran up to Veneer covering his mouth with his tiny hands. This kid was a yapper.

“Dude. Calm down. You’re giving me anxiety.” Branch scowled.

“Sorry! I’m a little nervous.” Veneer kneeled on all fours to get at level with the little Troll. That’s when Branch noticed the faint bruises all along Veneers face, a scar healing above his lip…. This wasn’t the same flawless face he had laid eyes on a year ago at the Rage Dome. Branch glanced behind him, noticing the unconscious Rageons laying on the ground.

“Did you do that?” Branch asked in surprise. Veneer cocked his head unsure of what he was talking about at first. He then turned around.

“Oh! Y-yeah. Good thing there was a crowbar nearby.” He chuckled. He turned back to Branch. “I know you’re Floyd’s brother, but I don’t know your name.”

The little Troll was hesitant. This was the same face that tortured his brother a year ago, nearly killed him…. But then he did admit to his wrong doings, he did just save him, and he hasn’t tried kidnapping him…yet. He had to proceed with caution.

“Branch.” He said coldly, crossing his arms. “And where the heck am I? You’re here, but this doesn’t look like Mount Rageous.”

“It’s because it isn’t. Umm.” Veneer extended his hand on the ground, waiting and hoping the small Troll would take the friendly gesture. Branch hesitated, Be ready for anything, he thought to himself. Eventually, Branch mounted Veneers hand. Gently, like carrying something delicate, Veneer walked over out of the alley. Without being chased, with everything calm, Branch was able to take in the scenes for the first time.

The buildings where stacked on top of each other, bunched up crowded reaching the sky. Streets and walkways unkept, broken, cracked. Nothing but neon artificial light lit up the city as far as he could see. It was high tech for being somewhat run down, Branch would give it that. He stared straight up. Far above he noticed clouds, the cloud line, bright lights barely shining through…

“Is that, Mount Rageous? Then what’s this place?”

“It adopted the name ‘Under Rageous’. It’s…. It’s a lot different down here than it is up there.” Veneer explained.

“Obviously. Mount Rageous was too colorful, this place, well, hardly anything.”

“We make do.”

Branch glanced at the Rageoun confused. “What do you mean?”

“We….Me and Velvet…. This is where we’re from…. I found Floyd down her before….” He voice and eyes trailed off as he avoided eye contact with Branch. “….It can be hard down here…”

“How hard?” Branch asked….

….What they didn’t notice, hiding in the cracks in the buildings above them, was a gray little Troll. He’d been eyeing them, watching them the whole time. He peeked his head out ever so slightly; he wore a dark blue beanie that covered his Troll dark blue hair except for a piece that covered his right eye, he wore sa denim-like material that was fashioned into a sleeveless vest, the same material he used for his pants. He was young, a Troll born and raised in Under Rageous… and throughout all his 17 years of life, he never saw a Rageon and Troll interact in such a casual manner. The young Troll kept a watchful eye, waiting for the opportune moment.

“Just… hard.” Veneer didn’t explain any further, and Branch didn’t push it. “How…. How did you end up here?”

“I was….taken….Pop Troll Village was attacked. Some of us kidnapped. I was able to escape with a few others… everyone else… I don’t know.” Branches voice and gaze grew distant, remembering the events that occurred that day.

“Is…Is…Floyd okay?” Veneer asked with a desperation in his voice. Branch arched an eyebrow.

“You care?”

Veneer turns his gaze away, looking at something at the ground. A sense of guilt hit Branch, maybe he did….

“I don’t know…I don't know what happened. That’s why I have to get out and go back.” Branch finally responded. Veneer turned back to look at Branch. He noticed and knew that look all to well…it’s a look he would constantly give his sister….worry.

“I can…help you…” Veneer finally replied after sharing a silent moment. The Trolls small ears perked up.

“R-really?”

“Y-yeah. But ummm…. Could we go with you?”

Great. Branch was not in the mood to make promises. Did he want to take the kids with him? No. He didn’t trust him, he didn’t trust his sister. What if this was some trick Veneer was plotting? A plot to get closer to the Trolls, find their destination, take them all…. But what if Branch said no? Would Veneer still want to help him?

“I….”

SWOOSH. THUMP. THUD.

Something came swinging in, hitting Veneer full force on the chest, knocking him off his feet. Branch went tumbling out of his hand and onto the floor with a small thud. He rubbed his head as he stood up.

“Ven-..” Another little Troll came up to Branch, covering his mouth.

“Shh! Let’s go!” The dark blue haired Troll with a dark blue beanie pulled Branch along after, heading back into the alley.

“Wait. What? Who are you?”

“Hurry up!” The young Troll ran until they made their way into a crack in the building. The Troll looked at Branch and heldl a finger to his lips.

“Branch? Branch?” He could hear Veneer call out as he rubbed his chest. Peeking through the crack, Branch could see Veneer peeking and overturning debris to find him.

“Who are you?” He asked looking at the young Troll.

“….Tye.…My name is Tye.” Tye peeked through the cracks as the young Rageon outside kept digging through the debris.

“Branch!” Veneer called out again.

“I don’t think he’s all that bad-..”

“Shhh!”

The two Rageons that Veneer had knocked out earlier regained consciousness. They wabbled their way to Veneer, holding their heads, letting out small moans of pain.

“You…. You stupid little freak!” One exclaimed, a fury growing in his eyes. Veneer quickly got up from all fours, he turned and ran….

THUD!

He slammed into a body that was standing right behind him. Veneer fell back again, he stared up the tall Rageon: pale skin like them all, orange stringy hair style into a Mohawk. A cybernetic eye on his left, matching his clawed prosthetic arm.

“Wel, well, well. I should be honored. The one and only Veneer everyone!” He gestured to the young Rageon still on the ground.

The Trolls watched silently from the cracks of the building.

“Okay. They’re distracted, let’s go.” Tye attempted to pull Branch along.

“Wait.”

“For what? Let’s go!”

“Wait!” Branch exclaimed, peering through the cracks.

“H-how do you know m-my name?” Veneer stuttered.

“Isn’t that what you guys wanted? ‘Baby, remember my name’” He sang mockingly. “Oh you were famous down here as much as you were up there. Only for the wrong reasons.” The Rageon gazed and fiddled with his prosthetic arm as he continued to speak. “You and your sister, Under Rageons living the luxurious life. And you didn’t bend a finger to help out the rest of us down here.”

At his last words the orange haired Rageon grabbed Veneer's neck with his prosthetic, robotic arm, he began to squeeze tightly leaving Veneer choking and gasping for air. The rest of the Rageons smiled at the sight of Veneers suffering.

“You’ve seen enough. Let’s go.” Tye whispered again.

Branch stared at the sight before him. Veneer desperately claws at the at the other Rageon, pleading to be let go, fear in his eyes…

“….I can’t…” Branch replied. Tye spun around in genuine surprise.

“What.” He demanded.

“I have to help him. Please help me help him.” Branch said.

“He’s a Rageon! They’re all disgusting filths!”

“I think… I think he’s different. Trust me. I know him, kind of.” Branch stated.

“Yeah! So does everyone down here. We know who he is and what he did. I am NOT helping you help him.” Tye crossed his arms and turned around.

“Please! Troll to Troll.” Branch heard painful whimpers and grunts. He peeked to see Veneer struggling in and out of consciousness.

“Many would pay a heavy price if I took you in right now. Public execution would be nice. But the satisfaction of killing you myself is rewarding enough.” The Rageon squeezed his hand tighter. “Not to mention you allowed a Troll to escape my guys.” Tighter he squeezed.

Tears began forming in Veneer's eyes, his face going from red to blue….he felt his heart fighting to continue pumping.

“Please!” Branch said again, turning around to Tye with a desperation in his eyes as Veneer inched closer to death. Tye let out an annoyed sigh, balling his tiny fists. Reaching into the pockets of his vest he pulled out two seeds, handing one to Branch.

“Ummmm..” Branch began to say.

“Do you want to help him or not?” Tye asked, earning a nod from Branch. “Then listen to what I say…”

“Someone should record this.” One Rageon laughed as their boss squeezed tighter and tighter around Veneer's neck. His thoughts went straight towards Velvet… who would watch out for her? Who would help her with the condition she was in? He was all she had, Veneer couldn’t just leave her alone.

CLANK!

The sound of metal hitting the ground echoed through the alley behind them. The orange haired Rageon slightly let go of his grasp around Veneer's neck.

“What the hell was that?” He murmured…. Suddenly in the blink of an eye, two tiny Trolls came swinging in.

“Veneer hold your breath!” Branch cried out. As he and Tye neared the other Rageons, they squeezed the seeds they held in their hand, releasing a yellow pollen into the air. Taking one breath, the Rageons began falling to the ground one by one. Veneer felt the hand around his neck go limp as the orange haired Rageon lost consciousness and fell to the ground with a big THUMP.

“Okay…. You can breathe now.” Branch said as the pollen quickly disappeared.

Veneer gasped for air, coughing and choking as he held his neck. Red marks began to bruise around his neck where the Rageon squeezed.

“Are they..” Veneer said softly as he tried to regain his strength.

“No. Insomnia Lily Seeds. Knocks you out in one shot. Trolls are immune, but not Rageons.” Tye responded. Veneer glanced at the small little Trolls.

“T-thank you.” He said.

“Don’t thank me. I’d personally have had them kill you. He was persistent though.” Tye nodded at Branch who was caught off guard.

“I- l…. W-well…Let’s just call it even!” Branch turned around and crossed his arms, avoiding Veneer's thankful gaze.

“Whatever. Let’s go now.” Tye nudged Branch. As he began to run away, footsteps and voices were heard rounding the corner….

“Boss said he’d be back in a few. Where the heck is he?”… More Rageons, and not the nice ones.

“Great. We- ah!!!” Tye yelled as he felt himself being scooped up. Veneer also grabbed Branch and made a run for it, holding both Trolls close to his chest.

“Let go!” Tye began beating his little fists against Veneer's chest.

“Where are we going?” Branch called out.

“Somewhere safe….I hope.” The Rageon replied